grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...
variety used for
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
.Wein-Plus: Bronner accessed on March 6, 2013Vitis International Variety Catalogue: Bronner, database record 17129 , accessed on March 25, 2009 It was bred in 1975 by Norbert Becker at the viticultural institute in
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The variety was initially known under its breeding code FR 250-75, and was later named in honour of (1792-1864), who was a German pharmacist and viticultural pioneer. It received varietal protection in 1977.
Bronner shows good resistance against fungal diseases and is in many respects similar to
Pinot blanc
Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces white ...
.
Pedigree
Becker created Bronner by crossing Merzling (mother vine) and Gm 6494 (father vine). "Gm" is used in breeding codes for grapes from the
Geisenheim grape breeding institute
The Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute was founded in 1872 and is located in the town of Geisenheim, in Germany's Rheingau region. In 1876 Swiss-born professor Hermann Müller joined the institute, where he developed his namesake grape variety M ...
in 1964 by Professor V. Kraus by crossing Zarya Severa and St. Laurent. Kraus offered several of his crosses to Dr.
Helmut Becker
Helmut Becker (8 March 1927 – 19 July 1990), German viticulturist, was chief of the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute.Andrew G Reynolds, ''Grapevine Breeding Programs for the Wine Industry: Traditional and Molecular Techniques'' Elsevier, 2015, ...
in Geisenheim, where additional work was carried out, and where his plants were given serial numbers. The grape variety
Rondo
The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period.
Etymology
The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round".
Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...
was created by selecting a Gm 6494 plant with particular properties.
Initially, the father vine of Gm 6494 was thought to be , but Becker's successor Volker Jörger and his colleagues were able to identify Zarya Severa instead.
Gm 6494 has an influence of ''
Vitis amurensis
''Vitis amurensis'', the Amur grape, is a species of grape native to the Asian continent. Its name comes from the Amur Valley in Russia and China.
It is very resistant to frost, but is not tolerant to drought. Selections vary, but as a speci ...
'' in its pedigree, but despite this, Bronner is usually not considered to be a
hybrid grape
Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more ''Vitis'' species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically ''Vitis vinifera'', the European grapevine. Hybrid grap ...
.
Relationship to other grapes
In 1983, Bronner was crossed with Cabernet Sauvignon to create the white wine grape
Souvignier gris
Souvignier gris is a white German wine grape variety that was created in 1983 by Dr. Norbert Becker. It is a cross between Seyval blanc and Zähringer, but was originally thought to be a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Bronner.
History ...
.
Vitis International Variety Catalogue
The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung Gei ...
(VIVC) Souvignier gris '' Accessed: January 20th, 2014
In 1996 the red wine grape
Divico
Divico was a Celtic king and the leader of the Helvetian tribe of the Tigurini. During the Cimbrian War, in which the Cimbri and Teutons invaded the Roman Republic, he led the Tigurini across the Rhine to invade Gaul in 109 BC. He defeated a Roma ...
was obtained through a natural cross of
Gamaret
Gamaret is a variety of red wine grape.Gamaret ,
with Bronner.
Synonyms
The only synonyms of Bronner are FR 250-75 or Freiburg 250-75.
Other Bronner variety
Confusingly, Bronner is also used as the name of an
open pollination
"Open pollination" and "open pollinated" refer to a variety of concepts in the context of the sexual reproduction of plants. Generally speaking, the term refers to plants pollinated naturally by birds, insects, wind, or human hands.
True-breedi ...
variant of Pinot blanc. The Pinot blanc-related Bronner, which is not the same variety as the 1975 German crossing, is known under the synonyms Weiße Bronnertraube and Weiße Gaman. Unlike most cultivated grape varieties, which are dioecious, Bronner/Gaman is monoecious, with only female flowers.